Melbourne City Tours Cheapest Travel Around the CBD

Train Travel

Firstly, travel by train into Melbourne City. Melbourne has an excellent train service from the suburbs to the inner city CBD area. Details are on-line at metlink, making your destination easy to check out. The Metlink rail service provides a journey planner,which simplifies working out how to get where you wish to go,and return. It provides ticketing information, timetables and maps. Train travel eliminates the worry of car parking or walking long distances.

Tip of the day: Always remember to validate your ticket before you get on the train.

The Flinders Street Railway Station, the main station in Melbourne is an icon. Flinders Street station is central to so many tourist spots in the CBD, and over decades has become a famous meeting place at the clock under the copper dome.

Melbourne’s iconic Flinders Street Station in the CBD

Melbourne Visitor Centre at Federation Square

When you arrive in Melbourne, make your way to theFlinders Street Station, the main station of Melbourne. This is central to so many tourist places to visit. Then make your first stop the Melbourne Visitor Centre at Federation Square, just a short walk away.

Melbourne Visitor Centre offers visitors a wealth of information about the city with free booklets, maps, and leaflets. In particular the ‘Official Visitors Guide-Melbourne’ has much to offer.This is an excellent information booklet on places to visit in Melbourne, and Melbourne City Tours. It also has a page of special discounts and offers for visitors on Melbourne City Tours and top places to visit.

Tourist Shuttle Bus or City Circle Tram- a Free Service!

Melbourne city provides a City Tourist Shuttle. It is a FREE SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE! It runs daily between 9.30am to 4.30pm, excluding Good Friday and Christmas Day.The Melbourne Visitor Centre provides details and a map of the designated route. Have a look at this and work out the places you wish to visit in Melbourne CBD.

The City Tourist Shuttle stops at the key tourist places to visit in Melbourne. You may ‘hop on’ or ‘hop off’ at any of the 13 stops. When you’re finished at one site,you can just hop back on the next Shuttle and continue on. They run every 30 minutes and signs highlight designated stops along the way.

Melbourne city also provides a FREE City Circle TRAM. This service provided on the cities historical trams. It operates daily traveling around the perimeter of the CBD. Once again you can ‘hop on’ or ‘hop off’ at any of the stops on the designated route. The Melbourne Visitor Centre provides a map outlining this route. It is a shorter route than the Tourist Shuttle route. You will have to walk a bit further to visit the Melbourne Museum or Queen Victoria Markets, if they are on your list of places to visit Melbourne. If you are unable to do a lot of walking your answer is – take the Shuttle bus.

Melbourne Museum see the Titanic Artefact Exhibition

Both the Shuttle Bus and the City Circle Tram are clearly visible being predominately a deep RED in color and clearly signed.

The Shuttle Bus and the City Circle Tram provide Melbourne City Tours which cover all the important tourist sites, or drops you within a couple of blocks of the attraction. This is a FREE ride. Therefore you can do this trip very cheaply on as many days as you like in relative comfort,only hopping off at the sights you wish to visit.

Refer to my post:Places to visit Melbourne which are all on the designated route for either the Shuttle Bus or the City Circle Tram, the cheapest way to travel around and see the sights of Melbourne in the CBD area.

If you prefer to walk however, and have decided on places to visit, Melbourne city provides friendly City Ambassadors, dressed in bright RED vests and caps to aid visitors in the CBD area.

On a personal note I found Melburnians a very friendly lot, who were very helpful and cheerful despite the appalling Melbourne weather.

Melbourne City Tours – walking around Melbourne:

Melbourne’s Golden Mile Heritage Trail: Walk the Golden Mile and hear how gold shaped the city. The tour provides insight into the architecture of the period with stories of colorful characters still remembered today, from that bygone era of Melbourne city. Tours start from Federation Square: Weekdays – western route (Immigration Museum to Town Hall) . Weekends – eastern route (Town Hall to Immigration Museum). Adults $20; Concession $15 (includes guidebook). Groups discounts available. Distance: 4km, 2.5 to 3.5 hours. The terrain is gently undulating so it is not hard walking.

The two City Tours below are accessible from Stop No.2 at Flinders Street, walk down Swanston Street to Collins Street intersection. Go right into Collins street for the City Hall, and left for the Block Arcade.

Melbourne City Hall

Melbourne City Hall Tours: Discover the architectural, social and political significance of Melbourne’s historic Town Hall. Monday to Friday 11am and 1pm. Duration of tour approx. one hour. Cost Free.

The Block Arcade – Heritage Shopping Arcade: A National Trust Treasure, the Block arcade is a heritage shopping arcade in Melbourne central. Coined in the 1800’s, the expression “Doing the Block,” was a stroll through Melbourne’s fashionable arcades, when considered the “place to be seen”. Today, the arcade still impresses with its etched glass roof, decorative wrought iron and timber supports and wonderful mosaic floor. Address: 282 Collins Street city. Tour departs Collins Street wing at 1 pm and concludes at 3.30pm, with a Devonshire Tea at Charles Dickens Tavern. All inclusive cost of $9.

Chinatown Heritage Walking tour: Chinatown Precinct: Australia’s National Chinese Museum re-opened to the public on Sunday 29 August, 2010 after an $1.2m upgrade.The Museum provides a Chinatown Heritage Walk commencing with a guided tour of the Chinese Museum where you can experience the life and times of Chinese gold seekers in the 19th century in the fascinating Basement Exhibition: “Finding Gold”. The visit to the museum followed by a walking tour of Chinatown. Chinatown is a fascinating place to visit in Melbourne with a wonderful history. At the finish of the tour you may enjoy a delicious banquet lunch at a world-class restaurant in Chinatown.Tour & banquet – (3 hours) Cost $34.80; Con. $31.80. Tour only – (2 hours) Cost $18, Con. $15.

Despite the winter weather you can have a great holiday in Melbourne, the City Circle tram and Shuttle bus provide the cheapest way to travel around the CBD.

I have spent two months in Melbourne this year. It is a very nice friendly city. Much to see and nearby wineries and cheese factories to visit as well. Also the magnificent Great Ocean Road, not to be missed if you get to Melbourne, as well as the old goldfields at Ballarat and Bendigo.Thanks for your comments. Lyn

Thanks for the tips on Melbourne. I’m going to visit a friend out there next month. She’ll be able to be my personal tour guide, but this is great information to know ahead of time. What are some must-see’s in Melbourne?

Glad you found my blog useful and I hope you enjoy your visit to Melbourne. It is a very interesting city. My other blogs on Melbourne and Milawa will give you some idea of what you may like to see. I haven’t written about the Great Ocean Road as yet, which is outside Melbourne, but if you are in the vicinity it is a “must see”. PS. you have a lovely blog site, very attractive and very interesting!! Italy is on my bucket list!